“How interesting…“ Song You shook his head, finding it all rather intriguing. After tidying up, he set off again.

In high spirits, his steps were lighter, though not faster. Time seemed to pass more quickly, and the plants, trees, mountains and clouds by the roadside looked much more pleasant.

The little girl walked ahead, holding her small bamboo staff. She was not using it as a walking aid but swinging it around, tapping at the grass by the road. Occasionally, she would jump up to swat at butterflies whenever she encountered one.

Song You watched her, amused.

He couldn’t help but wonder, how dull would this journey have been without her?

“Are you sleepy, Lady Calico?”

“I’m not sleepy!”

“Are you exhausted?”

“Not at all!”

“Is it fun?”

“Very fun!”

The little girl, without looking back, strode ahead in large steps while swinging the bamboo staff in her hand. Her voice sounded, “If only I had a knife, it would be even more fun!”

“Oh…“ It finally dawned on Song You that she had learned from that female knight.

By mid-afternoon, the little girl finally grew tired. Rubbing her eyes, she turned to Song You, asking if she could take a nap on the back of the horse. Of course, she could. She then transformed into a cat and returned to the cloth bag on the horse’s back to sleep.

The journey became considerably less entertaining.

While traveling from the mountainside to the summit, then down to the foot of the mountain, They passed by the ruins of an old village from the previous dynasty and encountered many abandoned pavilions. In some places, remnants of old earthen walls could still be faintly discerned. Most of the originally carved stone boundary markers remained in place, though half of them were now buried under weeds.

The sun began to dip further west.

As they reached the halfway point of another mountain, a pavilion appeared ahead.

The scenery here was quite pleasant.

On one side was a mountain, and on the other, a cliff. The roadside was dotted with bushes in bloom with flowers of various colors, creating a patchwork of beauty. The dirt path wove through the flowers and grasses, curling around the mountain. At the edge of the mountain, it seemed to end abruptly halfway up the mountain, with the blue sky stretching out beyond.

The pavilion stood at the end of the visible path. Beside it was a pine tree, growing on the mountain and leaning over the path and cliff as if to greet travelers.

Initially, Song You thought it was another abandoned pavilion and wondered why it was placed here. But upon closer inspection, he realized that this was not an abandoned pavilion at all.

The green-tiled roof gleamed in the light, and the pavilion’s columns were a vivid red, as if recently painted. It was clearly a new pavilion.

As he drew closer, changing his angle of view to avoid the obstruction of the pine branches and pavilion columns, he saw a person sitting inside the pavilion. The individual was tall, dressed in a neatly arranged robe, and was even drinking tea.

The sound of hoofbeats grew nearer to the pavilion.

The person in the pavilion turned and smiled at Song You, as if waiting for him and extending an invitation.

“…“ Song You pondered for a moment, then walked over with a smile.

Inside the pavilion, there was a stone table with a complete set of tea utensils, including two tea cups—one in front of the person and one on the other side of the table.

The person inside the pavilion appeared middle-aged, with a somewhat square face. He had thick eyebrows and rough skin, but he was dressed in fine clothing. He looked like a distinguished scholar or gentleman.

As Song You entered the pavilion, the man stood up. Song You also stopped in his tracks. One of them stood in front of the stone table, while the other had just arrived at the pavilion’s entrance, and they greeted each other with a bow.

“Greetings.”

“Greetings.”

“Please, take a seat.”

“Very well.”

The two sat down across from each other at the stone table, and the middle-aged man made a gesture inviting Song You to drink tea. “Please, have some tea.”

Song You picked up the tea cup. First, he examined it: the tea was a pale green and looked quite nice. He then sniffed it, noting the strong aroma and good quality of the leaves. After a brief pause and a sip, however, he found it somewhat bitter and not very smooth.

The man smiled at him. “You’re quite bold.”

“It’s just a cup of tea,” Song You replied.

“How is the tea?” the man asked.

“Average,” Song You said, setting the cup down and not wanting to drink it anymore. He then looked at the man and inquired, “Why did you specifically wait here for me, Mountain God?”

“I once met your master’s master, an old acquaintance of sorts. Since his heir has arrived here, it’s only natural for me to come and meet you,” the Mountain God explained. “The mountain roads are rugged, so I set up a pavilion by the roadside to offer you some tea for you to sit and rest, as well as have a quick chat.”

“Why didn’t you come to meet me last night?”

“Last night, you were quite absorbed in your conversation with the wild ghosts from the Pigtail Peaks. If I had appeared then and met you, wouldn’t it have disturbed this pure encounter?”

“Thank you for your consideration.” Song You’s gratitude was genuine.

The Mountain God’s pure kind gesture and thoughtfulness in respecting his meeting with the small ghost was indeed worth thanking.

But after a pause, he asked curiously, “But I noticed you were present when I encountered the evil creatures in the mountains last night. Why didn’t you come out to meet me then?”

At these words, the Mountain God paused his action of lifting the tea cup. “You knew I was present?”

“Not only did I know you were there, but I also know those gathering evil creatures were probably summoned by you. Otherwise, how could I attract so many evil creatures just by passing through the mountains? It’s unlikely that all the evil creatures in the mountains had gathered there to convene a meeting,” Song You said with a smile, then turned to look at the Mountain God.

“Although I’ve heard from those in the market town that you have a bad temper, you’ve set up this market to provide convenience and protection for the mountain spirits and demons, granting them light and driving away evil spirits on the mountain paths.

“You must be a benevolent and compassionate Mountain God. Why would you make these evil creatures trouble me? Does it have anything to do with my senior from Hidden Dragon Temple?”

The Mountain God said, “You’re quite perceptive.”

“But that happened at least a hundred years ago. I haven’t met or known that senior. Why should you trouble me because of that?” Song You asked.

“I’m not so petty.”

“Then perhaps you were here to deliver alchemical materials? If so, I may have misunderstood your intentions.”

“Not quite.”

“Oh?”

“Your senior, though immensely powerful, did not cultivate longevity arts. He’s probably long gone,” the Mountain God said. He took a sip of tea and set the cup down after a moment of hesitation, apparently finding it not to his taste. “Besides, I actually hold no grudge against him. Last night, I merely wanted to see how skilled the heir of Hidden Dragon Temple was and how well you could uphold the legacy of that great man back then.”

“I see,” Song You said with a smile, though he kept his thoughts private. “So, what do you think?”

“You know best yourself. There’s no need for further questions.”

“It’s always interesting to hear such things from others.”

“Haha! How amusing!” The Mountain God’s face broke into a smile. “You’re more eloquent than your master's master!”

“I’m not sure which master's master you’re referring to.”

“It’s been too long, and you haven’t met him, so there’s no point for you to know who he is.” The Mountain God shook his head. “However, there’s one thing about you that surprised me, but I only discovered it today.”

“Do tell.”

“You’re not modest.”

“It’s quite nice to hear about myself from others’ perspective.”

“Last night, I saw you eliminate the evil creatures from the mountain with a snap of your fingers. Although your mastery of the fire element spell was indeed extraordinary, it was evident that your understanding of the Five Elements Method was also quite remarkable. However, that alone would barely be worthy of the Hidden Dragon Temple’s legacy.” The mountain god paused. “But I didn’t expect that, despite your young age, you have not only achieved such a level in the Five Elements Method and spells but also were quite accomplished in other areas.”

“I have indeed studied many things.” Song You paused. “But I’m a bit confused about the other areas you mentioned.”

“Young people shouldn’t be so modest,” the Mountain God said and waved his sleeves. “The fact that you could detect my presence last night clearly indicates that your skills go beyond mere mastery of the Five Elements Method and spells.”

“Is that so…“ Song You quickly put on a smile and bowed. “It’s truly remarkable that you can carve out such an area within these great mountains, rooted in the mortal realm yet distant from it. With your divine abilities, and within the mountains where you were born, how could I possibly have the means to see through you?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“I just asked a casual question. You’re the one who admitted it,” Song You said with a smile, glancing at the tea on the table. “Human affairs may be more complex than you think.”

“…“

“Why are you silent?”

“How dare you insult me?”

“Is it not you who were rude first?”

“…“ The Mountain God fell silent and exchanged glances with the Daoist priest.

The pavilion fell into silence.

Even the mountain wind stopped, the trees ceased their rustling, and the birds fell silent. The entire mountain seemed to plunge into a dreadful quiet.

However, Song You remained composed as ever, seemingly ignorant of all these.

After a moment, the wind returned and rustled the leaves, and the pine tree that peeked out by the pavilion resumed its slow swaying. But the birds were still timid and dared not chirp.

The Mountain God lowered his head and took a sip of tea before speaking, “You’re indeed worthy of being the heir of Hidden Dragon Temple.”

“Have I brought shame upon my master’s master?”

“However, I’ve never heard of any Hidden Dragon Temple heir who gained fame through clever tricks.”

“Is this tea good?”

“I’ve heard that the Five Elements Method and spells complement each other well. It’s a pity that while your master’s master cultivated Five Elements spells, he focused on the Heaven and Earth Method. It has always been my regret that I have not had the chance to see the full splendor of the strongest human cultivator mastering the Five Elements Method and spells.”

“That is truly regretful.” Song You shook his head. “My master cultivated only the Five Elements Method, but he spent the first half of his life studying Five Elements spells. Unfortunately, he never passed through here during his travels and didn’t meet you, so you couldn’t fulfill your wish.”

“But I met you, so it’s the same.”

“You seem to misunderstand. I didn’t cultivate the Five Elements Method, and my mastery of Five Elements spells is not high. Only my fire element spell is relatively good, as demonstrated to you last night.”

“Hm?” The Mountain God suddenly frowned, staring intently at him.

“That’s a lie.” Song You, relaxed and smiling, said, “What I cultivated was the Four Seasons Rotation Method. I purposely said that to you merely because I was upset and wanted to make things a bit uncomfortable for you.”

With that, he felt an immense sense of relief all over.

The Five Elements Method was indeed powerful, but its application was not as versatile as the Four Seasons Rotation method. Cultivators of the Five Elements Method, no matter how deep their cultivation, would struggle to detect the Mountain God last night. However, someone cultivating the Four Seasons Rotation method with a diverse range of studies might have a chance.

Song You had indeed felt someone watching him last night and guessed it might have been the Mountain God, and that these evil creatures were related to him.

But at the time, he had considered many factors.

Firstly, from the little ghost’s words, it was clear that the Mountain God was benevolent and kind. Secondly, while there were many evil creatures in the mountains, they didn’t pose a threat to the Hidden Dragon Temple’s heir. It was just like throwing a large rock in the road to see how one would get past it. Thirdly, the recent acquaintance with the little ghost was rare and precious, and revealing the Mountain God might have disturbed this pure encounter. Fourthly, it was only a guess at that time and not a certainty.

Ultimately, his inherent laziness had prevailed. He knew that the Mountain God was benevolent and had a connection with his master’s master, and the Mountain God was trying to test him. He had the little ghost as an excuse, and his mood was quite good at the time. His inherent laziness took effect, so he decided to leave directly.

He hadn’t expected the Mountain God to be waiting by the roadside today. At the very least, he had to give him a piece of his mind for the sake of inner satisfaction.